Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun has pushed back against opposition politicians demanding that President Bola Tinubu account for savings from the petrol subsidy removal, arguing that state governors, not the presidency, should provide that explanation.
Speaking in Yoruba at an All Progressives Congress rally at the Dipo Dina International Stadium in Ijebu-Ode on Thursday, Abiodun said politicians calling for a subsidy return alongside demands for accountability were being unreasonable.
"They said they want to return the subsidy. Are they mad?" he said, according to a translation of his remarks. "It is we, the governors, that should make such explanations because it is we, state governors, that collect the money." He argued that subsidy removal had increased Federation Account allocations to states, which governors had used to fund roads, schools, housing and support for farmers.
The remarks come amid renewed criticism from opposition figures, including ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, who has repeatedly called on the Tinubu administration to account for the roughly N15.8 trillion mobilised since the subsidy was removed in June 2023, and has pledged to restore it if elected in 2027.
Atiku has argued his proposal is not an import subsidy but a production-based model that would lower the cost of crude feedstock supplied to qualifying Nigerian refineries, distinguishing it from a return to the pre-2023 subsidy regime.
Abiodun did not respond directly to the specifics of Atiku's proposal, but said the APC would defeat opposition parties in the next election. Neither Atiku's camp nor other opposition figures Abiodun named had responded to his remarks as of Friday.
